Alston & Bird hires Abernethy, Roskey — Space Research Association brings on Patton — County in David Jolly's district hires David Jolly's old firm

By BYRON TAU

03/14/2014 02:00 PM EDT

By Byron Tau

With Andrea Drusch

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ALSTON & BIRD HIRES ABERNETHY, ROSKEY: Alston & Bird has brought on David Abernethy and Colin Roskey. Abernethy is the former staff director of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and longtime executive of EmblemHealth. Roskey is a former health policy advisor and counsel to the Senate Finance Committee. Both will work in the firm’s Washington office. “Washington policy and politics seem to be dominated by health care, and we are proud to have the deepest and largest health practice in Washington,” said Alston & Bird managing partner Richard Hays. “We are excited to have Colin back in the fold, and he, along with David, will make our team even stronger.”

SPACE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION BRINGS ON PATTON:Patton Boggs has been hired to represent the Universities Space Research Association. The association is lobbying to restore federal funding for the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Former Sens. Trent Lott and John Breaux as well as Kevin O’Neill, Bret Boyles, Dana Weekes, Amy Davenport and Sam Martin are working on the project.

GOOD FRIDAY AFTERNOON and happy Pi Day. “Pi Day is an annual United States of America celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi),” per Wikipedia. It’s celebrated on March 14 — in honor of the number that is approximately 3.14159. Pi also happens to be the acronym for a certain lobbying tipsheet and column that you happen to be reading. Pi represents “the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.” Send your lobbying news, gossip, tips and scoops to btau@politico.com. Andrea is adrusch@politico.com. And keep up with PI on Twitter by following @ ByronTau or @ PoliticoPI.

COUNTY IN DAVID JOLLY’S DISTRICT HIRES DAVID JOLLY’S OLD FIRM: Florida’s Pinellas County has hired Van Scoyoc Associates on a lobbying contract. Pinellas County falls mostly in Florida's 13th congressional district — a district that on Tuesday voted to send David Jolly to Congress to represent it. And last week, the county also filed paperwork to bring on Van Scoyoc as the county’s lobbying firm. Jolly was a lobbyist for Van Scoyoc until 2010, when he left to hang a shingle and launch his own firm, Three Bridges Advisors. The county had Patton Boggs until 2011 and has been without lobbying representation since. According to the lobbying registration, Van Scoyoc will be lobbying on flood insurance and shore protection related issues and initiatives for the county. Gregory Burns and Nathaniel Potter are listed on the account for Van Scoyoc. The county did not respond to a request for comment.

SPEAKING OF VAN SCOYOC...: The lobbying firm inked four other clients this week. The firm was hired by Adaptive Cyber Solutions, City of Thousand Oaks in California, Antelope Valley Transit Authority and the City of Huntington Beach in California. Overall, the firm has inked nine new clients in 2014 — a brisk, healthy pace for a year when nothing big is expected to pass through Congress. “This pace of new client registrations, coupled with the likelihood of a return to ‘regular order’ at least for the appropriations process, has us feeling pretty positive about the year to come — despite it being a mid-term election year,” firm chief of staff Ross Kyle emailed PI.

WORLD’S NEWEST COUNTRY HIRES HELP: The government of South Sudan has brought on lobbying help, according to documents filed with the Department of Justice. The African country — which gained independence from Sudan in 2011 — has signed the Podesta Group and KRL International. KRL International will work on a “communications and advocacy program” on behalf of South Sudan. Podesta Group will provide "strategic counsel to the principal on strengthening the principal's ties to the United States government and institutions.”

BIG BUSINESS BOLSTERS COMMON CORE: A coalition including the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will launch a national advertising blitz Sunday targeted at Republicans skeptical about the standards. Spots promoting the Common Core will air on Fox News and other conservative outlets. The campaign — a major ad buy that could last months — aims to undercut dire tea party warnings that the standards amount to a federal power grab, akin to Obamacare. The TV spots and online ads will project a positive tone, featuring teachers praising the Common Core. POLITICO’s Stephanie Simon has more: http://politi.co/1giMPhS

'OPEN MIKE' LAUNCHES WITH MACON PHILLIPS: Check out the debut video of POLITICO's new weekly series, "Open Mike," featuring a conversation between Mike Allen and the digital diplomacy lead at the State Department, Macon Phillips. Watch Phillips's take on how social media and digital strategies are helping shape diplomacy in Ukraine, and hear his thoughts on the popular Deathstar petition: www.politico.com/open-mike/

CORRECTION: PI got Jason Abel’s name wrong in Thursday’s PI. He’s an of counsel at Steptoe & Johnson and a good sport for putting up with us.

ELSEWHERE IN THE INFLUENCE WORD:

MCDONNELL ALUMS LOBBY FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION: Three high-level veterans of former Gov. Bob McDonnell's administration, two with South Hampton Roads ties, have newly registered as lobbyists for the pro-Medicaid expansion Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. The McDonnell alums are among a group of lobbyists recently listed as working on behalf of the state hospital trade group, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. http://bit.ly/1gqoGKK

SEAWORLD HIRES LOBBYIST TO SAVE ORCA ROUTINE: Pete Montgomery of Montgomery Consulting, once a BP government affairs director, will lobby for the water park against legislation aimed at stopping orca performance. The bill comes on the heels of the controversial documentary “Blackfish,” which explores the deaths of several whale trainers. http://bit.ly/1iJBjE7

BIG FRAT LOVES THE RED: And we’re not just talking Solo cups. “Capitol Hill priorities for the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee, or FratPAC, have included lobbying for tax breaks for Greek houses and against anti-hazing measures. To advance its issues, the PAC has contributed $63,000 to candidates this election cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Just 25 percent of those funds went to Democratic candidates, while 75 percent went to Republicans.” http://huff.to/1kqKQ0j

** A message from National Clean Energy Week: Clean and readily abundant forms of energy are powering more than homes and businesses. Taken together, our capacity for secure and reliable energy generation is driving a clean energy renaissance that is creating jobs, strengthening America’s national security, and preserving our environment. Together, we will harness the power of free market and government collaboration to move America forward. Learn more about National Clean Energy Week: https://nationalcleanenergyweek.org **